A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

• A website homepage for the band
• A CD cover for it release
• A magazine advertisement for the CD

I chose to make a music video as this was new to me. I’m very interested in music and watch a lot of music videos, so I decided I would enjoy this coursework task a lot. When considering which of the three options to choose it was pretty obvious which two to choose. I had never made a website before and realised this would be a difficult task to do as I have no knowledge of making websites, and there was a limited number of people to help me with this.

I had used Photoshop before and knew that choosing a magazine advertisement and a CD cover would be the best options for me. Using Photoshop in my AS year for both media and photography meant I had already gained a lot of skills to help me with these tasks and I knew I would learn some more along way, seeing it as a way to improve the skills I already had.

Therefore i was creating a music video, a CD front cover and a magazine advertisement for the CD.

Before starting my research I made a set of SMART Targets. We used these in the first year and they really helped me organise myself and my work. SMART Targets must be:

S – specific, significant, stretching
M – measurable, meaningful, motivational
A – agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented
R – realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented
T – time-based, timely, tangible, trackable
(you can see my SMART targets on my blog post with the title SMART Targets by clicking the link). I did not stick to my SMART targets well throughout the coursework task. I feel this was due to underestimating the workload as i had never produced a film before and didn’t realise the amount of time it took. Other factors affected this aswell, such as weather conditions(as i had planned for most of my video to be filmed outside), organising when i could use the music block at my college to record the song also took a lot of time-I had to wait untill the equipment was free and the students to have time to learn and record the song. If i had to go back and start this project again i would definitely plan dates and times in a more formal way, and make sure i stuck to them, as this threw off my time management for my whole project.

I started my research by brainstorming my original thoughts about the music video i wanted to create. At first i thought of using my sister to be the singer and star in my music video, so i thought i would mainly research music videos, where the lead singer was female.

During my research i came across a music video which stared a female singer and also a lot of extras during the video. I liked this idea and knew that i wanted to include this idea in my music video.

This is when i realized i really wanted to use a green screen in my music video. I had used green screens before and had a good knowledge of how to use them correctly, I also managed to get permission from a media tutor to use the green screen we have at the college. I found music videos which had somewhat the same idea as i had for mine and i also watched many videos on how to use a green screen correctly. I felt these videos helped tremendously and i learned a lot from them.I did not end up using this idea as this would have taken a lot of time, and i did not have a lot of time after i was ready to use it. I still used the same idea of having a background sequence, but i used this as the main video and instead of having the band infront of it, i included clips of them.

It was during my research that i decided what song to use. I really like the song and felt i could picture brilliant imagery for each line fo the song, it made sense to  use this song. Copyright then imposed a problem,  i could have emailed the band and asked if i could the song, but i wanted to make it my own, as it was my music video, so i decided to find people to play the song in their own way. I had a bit of trouble with the orignal singer who i had planned to record with, but i soon found a replacement and he was very eager to learn and record the song. after finding the people who were willing to play this song as an acoustic version for my music video. After finding the people willing to do this for me, i started a photo shoot ready for my CD cover and magazine advertisement. I then focused on research for these while i was waiting to record the song. I also started to location scout, this was difficult because iw anted to put a negative twist on a positive song.

I decided to research CD covers iw ould look at exsisting one’s and compare what they shared and how they differed from each other. Most covers showed continuity between the front and back cover, i knew this is what mine had to include to look professional. I then started producing mock ups of ideas for my album. I made to different mock ups and then held a focus group. This focus group wasn’t as succesful as i had hoped as the results of it were really close, and i still did not know which one to choose, so i decided to play around with the two and mix them up to contain aspects of both. This was a risky idea as i had not made a mock up of this attempt, however i feel the finished product was better than either of the two on their own, and i feel i made the right choice in not choosing to go ahead with the focus group ideas as they were really close.

I started to make my album covers using the picture i had taken myself, the photo shoot was successful and was very happy with the choice of pictures i had. I am extremely happy with how professional my album cover looks. I kept referring back to my research to see how well i was doing, i then found a website which would give random names which i could use for my track listings. I felt i used my original photo shop skills and gained some more on top of this. I pushed myself to get the very best results, and this worked really well.

My research for my magazine advertisement did not go to well. My research into CD covers i managed to do using covers off the internet, however i could not find any magazine advertisements on the internet, so then i had to go through magazines looking for advertisments. It was difficult to find advertisments, and i think this was due to new media technologies and the fact that they can advertise to more people than magazines now. The internet and T.V are more popular than magazines and more people use these. However i did find a few examples and used these as a basis for my own advertisement. I kept my advert very basic and i feel this was the best choice as my audience gained the information they needed and it was not too complicated. It was fairly easy to produce, once again using my skills i had already gained on photoshop. I made three of these.

To decide which one to use i thought another focus group was best. Focus groups work well as my CD is mostly aimed at teenagers (due to the band members being young), so i thought i would ask teenagers which one they would pay more attention to whilst flicking through a magazine. The idea of an advertisement is to catch the readers attention, so this feedback was greatly appreciated. 6 out of 10 people preferre my third attempt of a magazine advertisement. The background matches the CD cover and there was an image of the CD on the advertisement. This image stays with the reader so that when they go out they will spot the CD, thus more chances of it being brought.

Constructing the music video was the most difficult task on this coursework brief, as i had never filmed and edited before. I filmed most of my music video before i had recorded the song, this was so once the song was done I could just start editing. Storyboarding was diffcult, and my finished video shared little scenes with the storyboard. This was one thing i had done badly. I did not know how difficult it would be to find people who could/wanted to star in a music video and who were available at the times i needed them. This meant a lot of scenes had to be cut. The chorus’ of the song were my favourite to film, sticking to the idea of adding more and more extras as I went along. There wasn’t as many people as i had hoped, and it is not on a plain background. However i feel this worked because it creates comfort and a relaxed environment, as if the band want you to come closer. This was another one of my ideas from the start. I am extremely happy with the finished video considering i had never filmed before.

Recording the song took a day, and i used some help from some of the college students because i had never used the complicated equipment before. However the finished song is better than i had expected and i feel it fits with my negative to positive idea very well. Even without the music video behind the song i find it is a very strong song, this means that when being played on a CD or the radio (which attracts a lot of different aged listeners) it would still be popular, and the catchy guitar and voice makes it even better! The song is acoustic which means it would be appropiate for the radio.

Editing was difficult, but i feel i learned skills and picked up quite quickly. I decided to change my film to black and white. This was for two reasons. The first was i simply prefer videos in black and white and wanted to include some of my own preferences into my video. The second was that because my film was filmed at different times of days in different lighting conditions, it looked really messy unless it was in black and white. This was fault of my own and i should have thought about this in the planning section. However i feel the finished product in black and white is perfect, and i am very happy and proud of the results.

I wanted to create my music video to show life as it really is for some people. When planning my music video i wanted to use the idea of juxtapostioning (putting a negative image next to postivie lyric), so this took a long time to think about. The song is such a positive song and i wanted a negative first half. For example, i placed images of a bullemic girl witht he line ‘Lets party in the supermarkets’. I’d imagined the images to be a lot more powerful than what they are, this was not the case once editing had been finished. However, after sitting and watching it through it shows it how it is. Issues like domestic violence and bullemic are powerful enough, and do not need to be exaggerated through the media to have an impact on someone.

During planning, i realized that most music videos have a twist, this is why i decided to make the second half of the music video happy and positive. For example, the bullemic girl is eating normally, and the alcoholic is pouring the alcohol away. This works well, and i feel it portrays the idea that people can change, and everythings not always negative, and that people can ‘fix’ themselves, it just takes realisation.

I feel i used a lot of time to producde the music video. However the finished product is what i had hoped for, the only thing i’d do if i was to do it again would be to organise my time more efficiently.

Throughout my project i knew continuity was important, and i knew this was one of the key componants i needed to focus on to produce a successful package. Looking at each of my products i can see how they all relate. An image of the CD is on the magazine advertisement, and the song title is on the CD and on the advertisement. The brick wall that is shown on the CD and on the advertisement is a way of spotting they belong to each other. The brick wall was not only there to do this but it also holds reference to ‘street life’ as it is, as this was going to be my main theme, however it changed to real life as it is, but i felt the bricks worked in each product so the remained there. If these were real media products beign sold in shops they’d be seperated, but i feel the audience would still be able to see they are all part of one package. This is one of the most successful things i managed to do with my media package. It was never an issue of having to change something to make continuity mroe obvious.

I feel my products represents it audience well. Whilst i know anyone can listen to any style of music and that there is no age limit on any genre, my products attract the people it needs to. Teenagers are more likely to listen to music more often, and they are also more likely to be bigger fans of a new artist/band. Therefore i made sure the song, the video, the CD and advertisement were approachable from a teenagers point of view. It’s very relaxed and the bands dragging you in with their cheeky smiles throughout the video makes you feel involved and part of their group. This is aimed at attracting more fans, as more people are likely to ‘fall in love’ with them. The feedback from my peers told me that this works, and a lot of people feel the end of my music video topped it all off (when the guitarist smiles and laughs). Many people in my class said that if they heard a snippet of the song they would want to hear the rest of it, they also told me that the video was what they wanted to see. This meant that my task of attracting a specific target worked rather well.

I understand that my music video is not up to the standards of being shown on television. This is due to my lack of expertise in filming. However i do feel it fits in well with other home-made music videos of which i have watched online. It also challenges some forms and conventions of existing media products. A lot of music videos which i have watched on music channels promote the band as much as possible, achieving more sales. However, i feel it should not all be about sales and people should enjoy listening tot he song and watching the video. Therefore band promotion was not a big issue to me. The appear on the back of the CD cover, and not the front, which is unusual as bands are either on the front or botht he front and back. This was because i wanted the music to be seen as more important than the band, yet i wanted the audience to remember that the band was behind the music. I also feel my music video challenges conventions as it shows real life as it is, without it being exaggerated or ‘fluffed up’.

My products not only challenges some forms, but in places it fits in. Watching music channels such as Kerrang! and Scuzz (channels which are to my preferance) iprobably would not see my music video being played on there. This is because the song is acoustic and the band is a duet. However turning my attention to channels such as MTV2 which plays alternative/indie style of music, i can see my song, and video being played. The song not only suits the channel (and vise versa) but my black and white attempt at a music video would also fit in here. Knowing that my video could be played on such a popular T.V channel, made me realize that everything i had set out to do and been achieved.I had created a succesful music video which attracts a target audience, challenges yet conforms with other music videos and i could see it’s place on a music channel.

I ended up with a brilliant sounding sound and a video which was as good as i had hoped, and aslo a CD cover and an advertisement. I found it hard work getting to this completed stage and i know now that i should have used my time appropiately, however i am very ploease with all of the finished products. I increased my knowlege and skills on photoshop, and learned how to use Final Cut Pro (which was a film editing programme i had never used before). I also learned a lot along the way, such as how to use a blue screen (in more depth than i had previous knowlege of), and about media industries and conventions for music video’s. I feel this Advanced Portfolio was successful, and i am very proud of my finished coursework.

This is the final magazine advertisement for the CD. It features the CD on the front so the audience know what the CD looks like. It’s basic yet all the crucial information is on there. I feel this is all the audience need to know, The band name, the album title, when it is out, and where to get it are all included in this advertisement. I also included a quote from well-known magazine NME, this allows the audience to get a genuine opinion from a trusted source.

Front Cover

Back Cover

These are the final front and back covers for the CD i had to produce.

This is the final music video, hope you enjoy

I mainly used cross fades to change between clips, this looks professional and suits with the negative/positive theme of my video.

I am very happy with the finished product but i feel i could have shot some of the clips so that they have a stronger effect on the audience, such as the girl who is bulimic.

I really like the start and and end of my music video. I like the way i have the band name and song title at the bottom of the screen as the song starts, i feel this looks like a real music video, and introduces it very well. I really like the end just purely because of the guitarists face and posture, he turns around smiling, i feel this sticks in with my idea which i had right from the very beginning of being relaxed, and close to the audience. Its a very relaxed posture and i feel this would make the audience feel part of their group.

I found i managed to lip sink really well. The guitarist in the video is not the guitarist on the song recording. Therefore i had to film it separately to recording it. This was difficult to edit together for the finished product because i wanted it to look like i had been filmed at the same time, however i think i managed this very well, the bits which i couldn’t lip sink i cut/put a transition over, so this was not a problem.

The equipment used to record the song was very difficult to use, and i had to seek help from two music students to make sure i was using everything correctly. They then helped me mix the track so the volumes were right, and the finished product was perfect.

I included this picture to show the equipment i used to record the song. Through the window you can see the singer getting ready to record.

I only have around 4 clips left to shoot and these will be done when the song is being recorded. I decided to use the band recording in a few places throughout the song, i feel this makes it seem more personal as the audience is seeing what they are actually doing. Throughout this project i wanted to keep the feel of personal and as if the band is showing everything to the audience, i feel this  makes a connection with the audience and would increase the fan base.

I have found help to use the equipment in music and the recording of the song will be started one evening next week, hopefully.

Today i have started to gain a rough idea of the finished music video. I cannot make any of the final cut pro edit permanent as i have not yet recorded the song, without the song i cannot be certain on where each clip of video should start and finish.

I am happy with my footage and am really looking forward to having a finished product.

I have encountered a few problems with final cut pro as i have never used the programme before, however these problems were easily sorted with a little help from my classmates and my tutor. I find using transitions effective but i struggle with deciding which transition to use at each point to make the correct effect and feeling i want to portray. Next time i use final cut pro to edit my video some more i will have a better knowledge after todays session and it should be more productive because of this.

I found cutting the audio and turning the clips into black and white fairly quick and easy to do, and these are the main two things i wanted to accomplish today.

Iverall it has not been a bad day, and my next step should be recording the song and the final clips.

The results from my focus group:

• 2/10 people prefer advertisement 1 :

They gave reasons for liking this one such as ‘It stands out because of the colour red’. This means that this one would be successful for catching the readers attention whilst they are flicking through the magazine, which means in theory more people are likely to view the advertisement.

Another reason for them liking this one is that ‘You can see who the band members actually are’. Typically, one way bands become popular is because girls find them attractive, showing the band members increases the chances of this theory thus making the advertisement more popular.

• 2/10 people prefer advertisement 2:

The two people who like this version of the advertisement give reasons such as ‘The guitar looks really good with the bricks on it and you can see it all clearly as its contrasting’. Hearing people like my design felt really nice, and as for them saying it stands out, i used contrasting colours to give this effect. When flicking through a magazine something catches your eye if it stands out. I feel the black and white contrast would make a reader stop and look again. Making my magazine advertisement successful.

The other reason that one of the members of my focus group gave to me was that ‘It’s clear to read’ this makes it convenient for the reader to read and understand, meaning they wont mind spending a couple of minutes reading the advertisement.

• 6/10 people prefer advertisement 3:

The most interesting reason i got for why someone liked this cover is ‘It shows an image of the actual CD so when we see the advertisement and go out shopping we may be subconsciously looking for this album.’ This was the best way i had heard to describe why it was a good reason to place the album cover on the magazine advertisement. If we do subconsciously look for the album whilst we are shopping after seeing it in the magazine, then it would make my magazine advertisement successful.

Some other reasons included the massive ‘OUT NOW’ is clear and stands out, which relates back to flicking through the magazine. My focus group feels this advert looks more like an advert and less like a poster like the other two, which i feel was great feedback as i am getting marked on making a magazine advertisement.

Finally they liked how the background of the advert matches the background on the CD cover. I suppose this is because it draws a comparison between the two, which i feel is really important and i really like the design of this.

The final magazine advertisement:

I started off with my background of a brick wall. This matches the background of the CD cover and shows continuity. I made no edits to the picture of the bricks itself as i wanted a very raw look, i did not want it to look perfected because this is not what my band and album are about. Also i feel it is recognizable as its the same image as the album, and the whole point of a magazine advertisement is to sell a product. The customers need to know what they are looking for.

I then added a back square to the center of the brick wall this was to create a ‘platform’ for the picture of the album to go on. Otherwise the album front cover wouldn’t stand out from the background enough. I then decided a smaller white square would also be a very good idea jut to emphasise the picture of the album more.

I also added a drop shadow to make it seem away from the wall and so it is not part of it.

I placed the album cover in the center of the white square, i thought this looks great because of the drop shadow and because of how it stands out. I also think using the front cover of the CD is a really good idea because the readers can see the CD and know exactly what it looks like, and this makes it easier for them to know what is being advertised.

I decided to make the ‘OUT NOW’ the most stand out part on the magazine advertisement, I felt this draws in attention from the readers. I used an outer glow to make it stand out from the brick wall even more than it did already. The ‘OUT NOW’ section looks as if it is on the same level as as the picture of the CD. This sets the wall as the background and not part of the picture. Showing that the text and picture are the most important things.

I wanted to make a difference to my other magazine advertisement designs so i decided to use only one quote. I feel this is effective and powerful but may also be seen as ‘not good enough to get more than one quote’. However we shall what my focus group says.

As i only had one quote from a source i had a massive space which i needed to fill, as it looked very ‘top heavy’. So i decided to add a sentence to explain the album, i have done this on my other two magazine advertisements as i feel it is convenient for the readers to just be able to read one sentence and know exactly what is being advertised.

Unlike my other advertisements i still had a blank space, so I’ve used the smallest text on the whole advertisement to write ‘available in all good music stores now’. This allows the reader to know where they can get the CD from, adding to convenience levels.

This is the third finished product, i now need to hold a focus group in order for me to get some feedback.

I started off with a plain black background and used the image of the guitar that i used for my CD cover. I made it bigger and rotated it. This is now the main background image to my CD advertisement. I also changed the image to black and white, using the black and white tool, i think this makes the advertisement look less amateur and it draws the readers attention in.

I then wanted to include the CD background image some more, so i decided to use a brick pattern on the guitar, to do this i used my own photograph of a wall and laying it on top of the guitar. I lowered the opacity and used to eraser tool to erase the bits i don’t need. Now the magazine advertisement reflects the album cover, and i feel this works really well.

I then used the same font as on the album cover to add the bands name. I used a grey outer glow to make the name stand out, as this is what would catch the readers attention. I placed it at the top because this is where the reader will first look. I also really like the black and white colour scheme.

I added the album title ‘Raw Words’ underneath the band name using the same amount of outerglow as i did in the band name. I really like the way the text is overlapping the guitar neck, i feel this adds layers to the advertisement.

I used a very plain font for ‘OUT NOW’ this is so the advertisement doesn’t look to busy with very interesting fonts everywhere. I placed ‘OUT NOW’ at the bottom, because by this point it has already caught the readers attention and they will have read all the way to the bottom by then anyway.

I decided to once again use quotes as this is what each magazine advertisement in my research involved. I made the quotes up and placed them underneath the album title near the top of the page. I used a black outer glow on all 3 of the quotes so you could see these over the top of the guitar.

I added an information section about the album stating what tracks are included, ths saves the reader some time they would have took to research about the release.

Completed Advertisment…

Many males in bands have a huge female following, and i feel this pose exaggerates this. I re positioned my quotes so that you are able to see this clearly. The quotes now sit just below this part of the image and just above the album title “RAW WORDS”.

I also decided the red outer glow was really ‘in your face’ and stood out from the picture maybe a little too much. I still wanted the outer glow there so i decided to make the bricks on the background picture have a hint of red to them. This then joins the outer glow and text to the background picture and the audience can make a comparison between the two.

I only changed the colour balance slightly because i still wanted the picture to look real and as least edited as was possible.

I am happy with this and i can honestly see it being included in a magazine that i sold on shop shelves. I have however decided to make some more magazine adverts, so i can ask people which they prefer so it isn’t just going on my own opinion.